Case Opened: Cassandra Grey's Violet Files

In our modern era—wherein anyone with an Instagram account can call themselves an entrepreneur—it’s been easy to want to dismiss Cassandra Grey, the wife of Paramount chief Brad Grey, as just another face in the crowd ever since she launched her multi-platform beauty business, Violet Grey, last year. But, as it turns out, the lithe and effortlessly chic Audrey Hepburn–esque founder knows what she’s doing. And now that her company has launched e-commerce and opened a lush brick-and-mortar space on L.A.’s classically of-the-moment Melrose Place, Grey is readying to take over the world one tube of Tom Ford lipstick at a time.

“We’re ambitiously trying to be the Colette of prestige beauty,” Grey said on a recent afternoon while lounging on a leather sofa in her new shop’s sitting salon, where her exclusive Le Labo x Violet Grey candle scent fills the air and the impeccably merchandised shelves are stocked with a selection of Koh Gen Doh face powders, La Merlip balms, and other potions that are there because of their use and adoration by Hollywood’s biggest makeup artists. “We’re not selling anything new,” Grey admits. “We’re selling the best.”

With the tag line “The Industry’s Beauty Edit,” the “best” is procured by scouring the cosmetic kits of Hollywood’s busiest glam squads, including Rachel Goodwin (responsible for Emma Stone’s recent The Amazing Spider-Man 2 press tour) and Beau Nelson (the man who gives Kristin Stewart her smolder). Their road-tested-product picks are on offer at violetgrey.com, as well as in Grey’s real-life William Sofield–designed retail experience.

While selling high-end beauty—whether online or in a store—no matter how beautiful the space is it's nothing groundbreaking, but Violet Grey’s presentation, marketing plan, and elaborate editorial component most definitely is.

The Web site is presented like a magazine, with a section called "The Violet Files"featuring originally conceptualized editorial shoots with gloss-worthy talent that has included January Jones, Eva Mendes, Vanessa Paradis, and Margot Robbie. The very artists who use the products sold on Violet Grey’s shelves are the ones working on each shoot, not only providing perfect blood-orange puckers and delicately bronzed skin but also shoppable tutorials on how you too can look like you just signed a major studio deal.

The synergy continues with an artists-in-residence program set to take place in the retail location’s front makeup studio—a bright, boudoir-like space that comes complete with Dean Martin’s old leather director’s chair and will allow shoppers to actually experience the makeup artists featured on the site. First up is a planned eyebrow day with Kristie Streicher, who has shaped the faces of Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning and currently has a monthly column on violetgrey.com.

As for the business side of things, Grey admits that during her previous, decade-long career—working as an influencer marketing consultant for the likes of Dom Pérignon—digital was never her main focus. But a quick look at her compiled team, which includes beauty-agency behemoth Brooke Wall as an adviser, former the Row marketing V.P. Tiffany Bensley as head of brand building, and Shoedazzle founder Brian Lee as an investor, gives a glimpse into the true savvy of this company’s creator. Though she declined to give sales numbers, a 58,000-user Instagram following gives insight into the brand’s potential shopper base.

As for next steps, Grey is readying to move her 22-person team out of the 2,300-square-foot bungalow behind theChateau Marmont, whichcurrently serves as headquarters, and into more spacious, permanent digs. All while staying the course and “continuing to build the voice, we want to build a business that’s around for a very long time,” Grey said confidently while adjusting a drapey plaid tunic borrowed from her stepdaughter, a fashion student at Central Saint Martins. “The way people are selling beauty online is so new. We really have a chance to invent something.”